Detroit falls from grace: Audi, BMW and Mercedes skip NAIAS

Car makers are assessing whether investing millions of dollars in motor shows still makes sense in today's digital world and in many cases conclude that the answer is negative. More and more French OEMs have struck Frankfurt from their list, whereas German auto brands are starting to say Nein, Danke to Paris.

And it is not just Paris that falls from grace. In North America, NAIAS (formerly known as the Detroit motor show) is no longer a must-attend event for BMW, Mercedes and Audi. This year, the four-ringed brand from Ingolstadt won't attend because of inconvenient product launch timing, a spokesman said.

CES is sexier

There is another reason why NAIAS is losing ground: it faces tough competition from the mega-media event that has become CES in Las Vegas. The world’s leading consumer electrics event draws far bigger crowds and focuses on the near future instead of what you can find in the showroom tomorrow.

Especially new brands chose CES as a launching venue. Last year, Chinese company Faraday Future amazed the world with its electric autonomous Tesla-killer. This year, it was the Hong Kong based Byton that took centre stage in Vegas, with a revolutionary concept of a smart device on wheels.

Picture copryight: Wikipedia, 2018